Thistles & Weeds
by sakurabirds
Summary: Sometimes, victories lie within the simplest of souls. Set in the RWBY!verse.
1. Enter Team Thistle

Spare me your judgments and spare me your dreams

Cause recently mine have been tearing my seems

I sit alone in this winter clarity which clouds my mind

.

.

.

_Red like roses fill my dreams…_

.

Frosty air nipped at her rosy cheeks as she stood before the large headstone jutting out of the snow covered ground. Her hood-covered head dipped low; hair that was normally contained in two small buns was down, escaping confinement and framing her sullen face while blowing in the wind with her long red cape. The corners of her lips curved upwards ever so slightly in a bitter and remorseful smile before quickly returning to a straight line. Blinking away the tears that threatened to fall from her eyes, she slowly turned away from the edge of the cliff, glancing one last time at the headstone with only the bright moon as her witness.

The girl sighed heavily, watching her breath frost and slowly drift away as she made her way through the dense, dark forest. She needed to make her way back home before her family realized she was gone. She had school in the morning after all.

Emerging into the small clearing that signified the center of the forest, she was greeted with deathly snarls. Lifting her head, she saw before her a sea of dark figures and glowing red eyes. The noises emitting from the creatures grew progressively louder, focused in on the tiny girl. She watched on as the monsters approached her, gradually picking up speed until they were sprinting full-force towards her.

_I really don't have time for this._ The girl reached for the scythe hanging folded in its usual spot in the small of her back as she took another deep sigh.

She'd been doing that a lot today.

.

.

.

_Mirror, tell me something… Tell me who's the loneliest of all…_

.

"_Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome… Ino Yamanaka."_

_Well_, the blonde thought, _here goes nothing. _She walked forward onto the stage. Once reaching the center, she closed her eyes and took in a deep breath before opening her mouth to sing. She recalled when her father asked her to do this. He was having a client come to whatever event the company was throwing this time around. He said something about making friends with the client and wanting to make a good impression. She didn't even have to look at the man to know that he had plastered on his best business smile, one that didn't reach his eyes, and was leaning in boasting on about the Yamanaka name.

She couldn't remember the last time she saw him genuinely smile. Or the last time he put his heart into a laugh. But with the burden he had to carry, who could blame him?

The Yamanaka Dust Company had been established generations before her and had been the primary cause for all her family's wealth. But with such great prosperity and notoriety came even greater enemies. They had been in war, actual gruesome _war_, because of the company her grandfather had created. Of course, it wasn't like he had anticipated much of _anything_ to come out of the tiny shack located in the middle of nowhere that was the start of her family's business, much less a body count. He had just been trying to provide for his family.

That isn't to say, however, that the lives lost meant nothing to her. Only that she didn't blame anyone except the mongrels who were responsible. She had made the decision long ago that she wouldn't stand for it.

.

.

.

_From shadows we'll descend upon the world, take back what you stole…_

.

It wasn't even late afternoon, and the moon could already be seen poking its head out in the middle of the sky. Lazily sitting atop one of the many huge slabs of rock jutting out between the vast expanse of red forestry, and she supposed that she in all her black-clothed glory stood out. But then again, it wasn't like she was trying to hide. She was just waiting, waiting, _waiting_.

Shino had been gone for awhile. If she hadn't known better, she would've guessed he had tripped at the edge of the cliff and fell to his death while waiting for the train to arrive. But he was far too skilled to go out in such a fashion. He'd probably rather leave this world in a blaze of heroic glory, but her definition of heroic was probably a lot different than his. At least as of late.

There was a time when they were pretty much the same person—a time when they shared the same beliefs in humanity and goals for the future. She couldn't figure out really when she started questioning things, but she could most definitely tell you a good part of it had to do with the waiting, waiting, _waiting_. They weren't told much these days apart from where to be and what to do.

She didn't really like what they were told to do—what they _had_ to do—either, but she would never tell you that.

Not even Shino knew about these thoughts that have invaded her mind within the last few months, and he was her partner in crime. He always knew when something was bothering her. They had grown more distant recently, though, and that was another thing she couldn't really figure out. She didn't know if he could tell that they had been slowly drifting apart, or if he was just too preoccupied to care about their—

Could she even call it a friendship? They had been working side by side for some time now, but it wasn't like they had told each other everything there was to know. So it would make sense for him to not really show interest in their crumbling whateveryoucallit…

Right?

She didn't know. She was probably questioning everything too much again.

"Hinata." _Speak of the devil…_ "It's time."

Slowly, she turned her head to look at him. Close enough, but just out of reach. It was probably metaphoric or something.

"Okay…"

It didn't take very long for the both of them to reach the edge of the cliff. Seconds after reaching the drop-off, the train that they had been waiting for started to pass by on the tracks below. Both jumped off the side and started sliding gracefully down the cliff, then once far enough, propelled themselves to the roof of the train. Shino broke the lock to the nearest opening and they both dropped inside.

"Looks like we're gonna be doing this the hard way," Shino said. One by one, the robots around them turned on, red lights flashing and heads turning towards them. Hinata reached behind her, grabbing the handle of her gambol shroud and rolled her eyes.

"Don't be so dramatic," she droned.

One of the robots approached them, lifting its arms and flipping its weapons out. "_Intruder, identify yourself_."

.

.

.

_I burn, can't hold me now… You got nothing that can stop me…_

.

Nothing felt better than having the wind running through her hair and the adrenaline rush that she got while riding. Even through her helmet and sunglasses, she felt like she was flying. Normally she would have taken the time to appreciate it, but not tonight.

Tonight, tonight after so many nights of dead ends and frustration, _tonight_… She got a lead. Tonight she would be one step closer to finding the one person that's been evading her for so long.

She was close enough to the club that she could hear the pounding music from where she was on the street. Quickly turning into the alleyway, she stopped and got off her motorcycle, running a hand through her long hair as she walked up to the entrance.

There was blinding spotlight shining directly on the entrance doors that greeted her. As she made her way down the stairs and through the mass of people on the dance floor, she saw the DJ dancing at his booth in a large teddy bear mascot head. She also noticed how all the workers wandering around seemed to give her a once over, which would have bothered her, but she more important things to do. Or, to find rather. _Where _is_ he?_

Thankfully, she soon spotted her target. He was talking to someone in nerdy glasses and silver hair. She saw her opening when the other person walked away and her target shook his head and made his way back to the bar. She quickly walked up next to him and took a fleeting glance at his hunched figure, before turning to the bartender.

"Strawberry Sunrise. No ice." The man was now looking at her through the corner of his eye. She paid him no mind. "Oh! And one of those little umbrellas!"

Once the bartender nodded and walked away, the man next to her turned his entire head to look her up and down. "Aren't you a little _young_ to be in this club, Pinky?"

_Pinky?_ She scoffed. "Aren't you a little _old_ to have a nickname like 'Junior', Genma?"

Said man's eyes widened for a fraction of a second before returning to normal and responding, "Well… You know who I am. You got a name, sweetheart?" Genma turned to lean back against the counter of the bar, smirking around the senbon in his mouth as the girl in question turned her body to face him.

"Yes, _Junior_, I've got several" she cooed while tracing a finger down his chest. "But instead of 'sweetheart'," his eyes quickly darted to her finger on his body that didn't seem like it was going to stop its southward trail, "you can just call me '_Sir'_." Emphasizing the last word with a rather harsh grip on Genma's lower region, the flirtatious smile she had on her face was instantly replaced with a fierce gaze. "People say you know everything," she reached for her pocket and pulled out her scroll, "Tell me where I can find her and I'll let you go."

Genma, with wide eyes, glanced between her and the picture on the holographic tablet in her hand a few times over before grinding out, "I've never seen her before! I swear!"

"_Excuse me?" _The man closed his eyes and clenched his teeth as the pressure on him grew. She was not happy.

"I swear… _sir!_"

Movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention, and her face grew soft once more. "Hm, looks like we've got an audience. Must be kinda embarrassing for you, huh?" She glanced over at the crowd of workers that assembled around the pair before turning back and laughing, "_Awkward_."

"Listen, Pinky, _sir._" The pain was starting to take a toll on him. He took as deep a breath as he could before continuing, "If you wanna make it out of this club alive… I suggest you let me go." He finally met eyes with the girl, "_Now_."

After staring him down for a few seconds, she finally let him go and she thought nothing sounded as pitiful as the gasp he took as he slouched over and hastily attempted to recompose himself.

"You'll pay for that," Genma grunted, getting up and walking away, henchman in tow.

Giggling, she trailed after him. "Oh, Junior. I was just playing with you! Don't be so sensitive!" He continued walking, ignoring the playful girl at his side. "Come _on_. Let's kiss and make up, ok?"

"_Huh?_" Now in the middle of the dance floor with his men as a barrier around them, he turned and gave her an incredulous look, but she only giggled softly behind her hand. "Well… ok…" he shrugged.

Slowly they leaned in towards each other with puckered lips. _Closer… Just a little bit closer…_

He didn't know how it happened, exactly, but one second he was about to kiss a very pretty girl in the middle of his club, and the next Genma found himself crashing through one of many large glass pillars and landing on the ground with an ungraceful _thud_. He groaned a bit as he tried to refocus his vision and only succeeded in seeing the room spin more, but something landed on his head and he blacked out completely.

The girl smirked as hoards of people ran from the dance floor and out of the club. Genma's men looked at their boss agape, before turning back to her with a determined look in all of their faces. She activated the light pink gauntlets on her wrists and jumped into the air when the men started running towards her. Plunging back down, she punched the ground, effectively creating a wave through the floor of the club and throwing all of Genma's men to their backs.

She slowly rose to her feet and saw the men around her trying to get back upright, some more successful than others, all looking around dazed and confused. Locking eyes with one of the men, she smirked and launched herself towards him, knocking him down with a powerful kick. She turned to the remaining men and took them all out in a matter of seconds. Suddenly, she heard and saw bullets flying around her and turned to see the DJ firing relentlessly at her. Sprinting forward while simultaneously dodging the shots, she fired herself up to the booth, kicking the gun out of his hands, throwing him into the music panel, lifting him above her head and shooting him back into the middle of the dance floor where she saw a girlish figure dawning a bored expression and an identical figure walking up behind the other.

"Sakon, who _is_ this girl?"

"I don't know, Ukon, but we should teach her a lesson."

_Keh_. She emptied the bullet shells in her gauntlets and reloaded them just as swiftly before once again launching herself to the dance floor to fight the two new opponents. They proved to be more difficult, attacking one right after another and in paired moves, but she managed to isolate one and launch her through a different pillar of glass. Turning to the other twin, she started firing towards her immediately while the girl danced around her. _It takes two to tango, sweetheart._

They matched each other step for step, throwing kicks and punches, but none of them landing. The remaining twin threw her leg in the air, hoping to make impact on the pinkette's head, but the girl span around, throwing her elbow to the twin's ribcage. She then grabbed the twin's arm, twisted her around, and kicked her in the face.

Suddenly, the club grew dark. She looked around for the cause as the broken and bruised twins limped to safety. She turned back towards the area around DJ booth and saw Genma holding something over his shoulder and raised her eyebrow. _A bazooka?_

"You're gonna pay for this." He turned to face her fully, kneeled, and fired. The shot split into several different bullets, and the pinkette met each of them with her own fire from her gauntlets, creating a cloud of smoke between them. Genma grabbed one end of his bazooka, turning it into a large metal bat and jumped through the smoke to attack. He landed several blows before hitting her across the room, where she landed on and shattered a glass table.

Getting up, she locked eyes with the smug man before returning her own smirk and sprinting back towards him with a newfound strength and determination. Switching between bazooka and bat, Genma tried to keep up with the girls relentless blows—a futile effort as she kept laying them on. Throwing her hardest blow, Genma reached in front of him and grabbed whatever he could before he was flung backwards, flipping over before getting to his feet. In his left hand saw his bat broken in half, and in his right, a generous amount of long pink hair.

The girl smirked at his baffled expression until she shifted her gaze to his hands. Her face immediately fell and the color drained. _Motherfucker._ She screamed aloud, the rage within her making her eyes turn red. She catapulted herself towards him with such a force that when she was finally close enough to punch him, she threw the man and herself out the window into the alleyway in front of the club.

"… Sakura? Is that you?" She heard the young, feminine voice coming from the street. _Tenten?_

Looking up, she found her suspicions were correct. Eyes promptly returning to their usual bright viridian color, she rose to her feet and smiled at the young girl before saying, "Oh. _Hey_, sis!"

"What are you doing here?" Tenten put her hands on her hips and cocked her head to the side, completely disregarding the unconscious man laying just a few feet from where she stood.

The pinkette sighed heavily before glancing at the club, then back towards her sister. "It's a long story."

.

.

.

_I burn, swing all you want… Like a fever I will take you down…_

.

Shino smiled devilishly, reaching for the sword at his side, shooting it towards the robots face. The machine started falling backwards and Shino sprinted forward, grabbed the falling sword and sliced the robot in half.

This interaction alarmed the rest of the robots as they started viciously attacking the intruding pair. Both Shino and Hinata took all of them out with little trouble and progressed on to the next car. Luckily for them, it was one of the cars they were looking for—one containing a good portion of the dust shipment. Shino moved to open one of the crates with Hinata in tow.

"Perfect. Move up to the next car," he turned toward to face the girl. "I'll set the charges."

"What about the crew members?"

"What _about_ them?" Shino frowned deeply, and even through his mask, Hinata could feel the frustration and questioning in his eyes. She remained silent, and the stare-off continued until they heard a massive thud behind them. The robots had called for some pretty massive back up before they were completely obliterated. Back up that came in the form of one very large Spider Droid. Hinata looked towards Shino with wide, panicked eyes.

"_Shino."_

The male disregarded her cry and charged to attack while the droid revved up to start firing towards them. Shino dodged the shots, preparing himself to attack, but was beaten by his female companion as she leaped into the air to attack the droid directly. Her plan failed when the droid lifted one of its legs to knock her down. Shino took his chance and leapt towards the machine and tried to penetrate the metal with his sword before he, too, was kicked out of the way. The Spider Droid began walking towards Hinata, who was still laying hurt on the floor. Seconds from crushing the poor girl, Shino came to the rescue and grabbed Hinata before the droid could drop its leg, putting her down once both were out of harm's way.

"We need to get out of here," she told her partner, furrowing her eyebrows.

The Spider Droid then aimed to fire the both of them once again; the hit was so powerful that it knocked a huge, gaping hole in back wall of the car and thrust the pair out onto the next car's open landing. They lifted themselves off the ground as the droid continued making its way towards them.

Shino looked towards Hinata, shouting, "Buy me some time!" The worry evident in her face only increased upon his command.

"Are you sure?"

"_Do it!_"

Hinata then charged towards the droid, trying to buy Shino as much time as she could so he could harvest his power. Kicking and slicing and flipping as much and as fast as she could, she managed to deal a fair amount of damage to the machine before returning to Shino's side.

"_Move!_"

Upon hearing Shino's warning, she ran to the next car and watched from a distance. The Spider Droid aimed another shot at Shino and fired. This time Shino absorbed it with his sword and returned it to his sheath, laughing darkly as the large machine jumped towards him. Without any hesitation, Shino whipped his sword out and sliced the through the large machine, watching as the huge hunk of metal eroded into nothing.

Shino turned around to find his companion, running to edge of the train car intent on joining her on the other side. He stopped just before the edge when he saw the solemn look on the young girl's face. Hinata turned toward him, once again reaching for the weapon on her back, holding it in her hands for a moment.

"Goodbye," she spoke softly. Soon after the words left her mouth, she broke the chain connecting the two cars of the train and, slowly, she watched the male in front of her disappear from her view.

.

.

.

_From shadows we'll reclaim our destiny… Set our future free…_

.

The decision itself was rather easy. She went about most of her life defensive and ready to attack at a moments notice. Business events, family dinners, even the song she was currently singing. Every breath she took, every note she hit was a swing of her sword, a strike to her opponent.

It was convincing her father that was a little more difficult.

He wasn't necessarily opposed to the her idea, but he wasn't _thrilled_ with it either. Asking her father for permission to enroll into the proper training academies out of nothing more than polite formality, it was strange for her to see him have an opinion on something—_anything_—that was going on in her life, even if it was only the slight crease in his forehead and the fraction of a frown that adorned his normally nonchalant face. Not that his opinion mattered anyhow. She would've found a way into the schools somehow; being an heiress of such a notorious and wealthy company teaches you a few things.

She knew she would make a great huntress and the thought was confirmed farther once she made the realization her entire life was practically a battle tournament.

With the last note of the song leaving a bitter taste in her mouth, she was brought back to the theatre and its people—a place she hadn't even realized she left—once applause arose from the crowd. Bowing her head, she curtsied and turned to leave the stage.

She raised her head and pulled her shoulders back, walking away with an air of confidence that wasn't held by that of an heiress, but that of a warrior.

.

.

.

_Mirror, locked inside me… Tell me can a heart be turned to stone…_

.

She landed on the snow with a soft _thud_ and watched as the empty bullet shells from her scythe-machine gun creation fell around her. Looking out at the clearing before her, she saw the carcasses of the dead Beowolves strewn about. She almost felt bad for them.

Almost.

She continued on her path towards home, the moon now falling to the opposite side of the sky. Her dad would kill her if he knew she was out this late, no matter the reason. Maybe if she took the shortcut through the city, she'd be able to make it home in enough time to catch a couple hours of rest.

_Tsunade Senju_

_The Last Summer Rose_

_Thus Kindly I Scatter_

.

.

.

_And brings me to the place you rest…_

.

.

.

Alone in the wind and the rain you left me

It's getting dark darling, too dark to see

And I'm on my knees, and your faith in shreds it seems


	2. This Will Be the Day

_Legends. Stories scattered through time._

_Mankind has grown quite fond of recounting the exploits of heroes and villains, forgetting so easily that we are _remnants_—byproducts of a forgotten past._

_Man, born from dust, was strong, wise, and resourceful. But he was born into an unforgiving world. An inevitable darkness, creatures of destruction, the creatures of Grimm set their sights on man and all of his creations. These forces clashed and it seemed the darkness was intent on returning man's brief existence to the void._

_However, even the smallest spark of hope is enough to ignite change. And in time, man's passion, resourcefulness, and ingenuity led them to the tools that would help even the odds. This power was appropriately named 'dust'._

_Nature's wrath in hand, man lit their way through the darkness and in the shadows absence came strength, civilization, and most importantly life. But even the most brilliant lights eventually flicker and die. And when they are gone, darkness will return._

_So you may prepare your guardians, build your monuments to a so called free world. But take heed; there will be no victory in strength._

.

.

.

The moon shone brightly in the sky as a group of large men in suits made their trek down the night filled streets of town following a man with a cane in hand. They stayed on a straight path to their destination; gasps could be heard all around them as women covered their children and the street inhabitants made a clear path in fear of the consequences that would bestow them should they not move.

Upon reaching the end of the street, the man with the cane and cigar stopped briefly, looking at the sign on the building in front of him. _From Dust Till Dawn._

The door bell chimed as the men all walked through the door. The old store owner greeted the customers with a warm smile before laying eyes on the weapons in all of their hands. The old man's face fell and he slowly took a step back from the counter.

"Do you have any idea how _hard_ it is to find a dust shop open this late?" said the man removing the cigar from his mouth and crossing his arms as one of the men to his side took out their gun to aim at the store owner's head.

"P-please!" The old man raised his arms defensively and begged, "Just take the money and leave!"

"Shhh, calm down. We're not here for your money," the man said reassuringly. He brushed his silver hair out of the way and shifted his glasses before turning to look at his men with a serious expression. "Grab the dust."

Taking out empty canisters, bags, and cases, the men split up to rid the small store of all the dust it had. "Crystals. Burn. Uncut" one said looking at the dust under the glass enclosure in the front counter.

Walking around the corner intent on draining the one of the many tubes of ground dust on the wall, a man heard muffled music coming from his left. Looking to the back corner of the store, he saw a girl reading a magazine. He took out his sword and stomped over to where she was. "Alright, kid, put your hands where I can see 'em!"

The man grew annoyed when it seemed the girl hadn't heard him and walked a little closer to her yelling, "Hey, I said hands in the air!" Still not hearing the man, the girl continued reading the magazine in her hand. "You got a death wish or something!?" The man pulled at the girl's shoulder, tugging her hood down in the process, revealing a set of large headphones resting over her ears; the girl looked at the man in confusion.

Pointing at his ears with impatience creasing his forehead and a grimace on his mouth, he stared at the girl until she finally pulled the headphones off and slid them around her neck. "Yes?"

"I said, hands in the air! _Now!_"

"Are you… _robbing_ me?" The girl questioned with curious, squinted eyes.

"_Yes!"_

"Oh…" she spoke slowly, nodding her head and looking down. "Well… then…" she sighed, before turning back to the man with a smirk, "Hi_yah!_"

Leaning against the counter, the boss of the group was cleaning his glasses, putting them back on as he saw one of his men fly across the room and skid against the floor. He looked at the other men around him and nodded to the back of the store. Suddenly a flash of red and black flew by him and out the glass window to the front of the store.

Gathering around the broken window, the men looked at their fallen brother laying in the street before focusing on the small girl slowly rising to her feet and smirking at the gawking group. The silver-haired man with glasses walked over to the window to assess the situation, eyes following the same path as his henchmen had. Scrunching his eyebrows together, he took in the tiny girl, who in turn grabbed her scythe from her lower back and slammed the blade into the ground, cracking through the asphalt.

"Okay…" The silver-haired boss looked around at his men whom were still in awe of the situation before telling them, "_Get her!_"

The men ran through the door of shop and started full force toward the scythe-wielder. She then jumped up, span her legs around, and kicked several of the henchmen down before they could even take out their weapons. Several other men then sprinted towards her, all of whom became good friends with the butt end of her scythe quickly, their bodies flying in all different directions.

Adjusting his glasses one last time, the leader of the men looked down at the groaning figure that landed near his feet. "You were worth every cent. Truly you were." Looking at the girl, he lifted his cane saying, "Well, Buns, I think we can all say it's been an eventful evening, and as much as I'd love to stick around," pausing as he pressed a button at the head of the cane which lifted the cap off the opposite end, "I'm afraid this is where we part ways."

The young girl dodged out of the way of the bullets shot out from the man's cane, before looking to the spot where he once stood to find that he was no longer there. Looking around, she saw him climbing the ladder at the back of a building nearby Quickly turning to the old man in the store she asked, "You okay if I go after him?"

The old man nodded and watched as she dashed off into the distance, chasing the man who had just attempted to kill her. Finally reaching the top, she saw the man running towards the other end of the building. "_Hey!"_

He stopped just before the edge of the building, glancing ever so slightly over his shoulder before mumbling a bitter, "Persistent…"

An airship then flew up from below, pulling dangerously close the edge of the building where the silver-haired man stood; he jumped into the open landing and turned to the girl still standing atop the roof. "End of the line, Buns!"

He threw a red crystal at her feet before firing another shot towards her, aiming for the crystal. He whooped loudly as he saw the large red explosion below until the smoke dissipated and he saw two figures—one small, cringed body still holding the scythe, and another mature dark-haired woman who had created a barrier between herself and the explosion.

The woman then shot multiple bright purple flares from her hand, all aimed toward the airship and making it sway in a different direction every hit. The man fumbled around trying to reach the cockpit. Landing harshly against its frame, he shouted to the woman steering, "We got a Huntress!"

Quickly trading places, the man attempted to steer the airship away while the woman walked into the open landing. Seeing them flee, the woman on the roof of the building created a storm of black clouds above the machine, making large chunks of ice descend rapidly, hitting the airship multiple times and puncturing the exterior. The woman in the airship then dealt a series of burning flames to the roof, both inhabitants moving out of the line of fire as quickly as possible. Then, the roof began to shake and large chunks of the concrete exploded into the air. The dark-haired woman on the building took hold of all the pieces of debris, gathering them together into one gigantic make-shift spear, and shot it toward the airship, hitting it multiple times before the pieces started burning to ashes at the power of the woman inside the aircraft. Firing one final and sizeable shot towards the roof, the aircraft flew away speedily.

The dark-haired woman still on the roof regained her balance before looking up and finding the criminals had already fled. "You're a _huntress_…" She turned her head toward the voice, meeting an excited gaze. "_Can I have your autograph!?"_

.

.

.

_This will be the day we've waited for! This will be the day we open up the door! I don't wanna hear your absolution, hope you're ready for revolution!_

.

.

.

The young girl soon found herself sitting at a table in a dark room, the only light being the fixture just above her head, being scolded by the very woman who had saved her life not fifteen minutes earlier. The whole scene looked more like an interrogation than the "friendly discussion" she was promised.

"I hope you realize that your actions tonight will _not_ be taken lightly, young lady. You put yourself and others in great danger…" The girl glanced up at the pacing woman.

"They started it!"

"If it were up to me, you'd be sent home…" The woman paused and sighed, "With a pat on the back…" Hopeful eyes found their way to the woman's face. "And a slap on the wrist!" The woman snapped, watching the young girl jump backwards in her seat, before continuing, "But… There's someone who wants to meet you."

The woman moved out of the way of the door, and the young girl saw a man with gray hair holding a platter of cookies in one hand and an orange novel in the other.

As he approached, the girl felt herself calm very slightly. "Tenten Senju…" he leaned in close to said girl's face, "You… have silver eyes…" Glancing away awkwardly, Tenten could only manage a serious of unintelligible grunts in response. "So," the man proclaimed jutting his head to the scroll in the woman's hands playing the tape from the dust shop's security camera, "where did you learn to do this?"

"S-…" she started, glancing at both adults in front of her, "Suna Academny."

"They taught you to use one of the most dangerous weapons ever designed?"

"Well… one teacher in particular."

"I see," the man drawled as he set the platter of cookies in front of Tenten, which, after a moment's hesitation, she dug into excitedly. "It's just that I've only ever seen one other scythe-wielder of that skill before. A dusty, old crow," he said thoughtfully.

"_Mm, dffs mm nkel!"_ After receiving odd stares from the adults in front of her, she swallowed the cookies she inhaled and wiped the crumbs off her mouth. "Heh, sorry," she mumbled awkwardly, "That's my Uncle Jiraiya! He's a teacher at Suna. I was complete _garbage _before he took me under his wing," she said excitedly, "And now I'm a like—Hoowaaahhhh! Witchaaaa!" She twisted in her chair, accompanying her sound effects with karate chopping motions of her arms.

"So I've noticed," the man smirked. Taking a seat across from Tenten, he inquired, "And what is an adorable girl such as yourself doing at a school designed to train warriors?"

"Well… I want to become a Huntress."

"You want to slay monsters?"

"Yeah! I only have two more years left of training at Suna, and then I'm going to apply to Konoha Academy. You see, my sister is starting there this year—she's trying to become a Huntress… and I'm trying to become a Huntress, so I can help people! My parents always taught us to help others, so I thought 'Hey, might as well make a career out of it.' I mean the police are alright, but Hunters and Huntresses are just so much more romantic and exciting and really, _just_, you know?!" Taking a moment to breathe after her passionate monologue, Tenten found that once again the two people before her were staring blankly in return.

"Do you know who I am?"

"You're… Professor Kakashi Hatake… You're the headmaster at Konoha."

"Hm," he smirked, "Hello."

"Pleased to meet you!"

"You want to come to my school?"

Tenten leaned forward with a dreamy look in her eyes and said softly, "More than _anything_."

Kakashi then glanced at the woman standing beside him who had been listening to the entire conversation. When her eyes met his, he lifted a curious brow. "Hmph," she rolled her eyes and turned away.

His smirk grew a little wider before turning back towards Tenten. "Well, okay."

.

.

.

_Welcome to a world of new solutions! Welcome to a world of bloody evolution! In time, your heart will open minds. A story will be told, 'cuz victory is in a simple soul!_

.

.

.

"_Oooh! _I can't believe my baby sister is going to Konoha with me! This is the best day ever!"

"_Please… stop…"_ Tenten ground out, barely being able to breathe in the bear hug her sister was giving her.

"But I'm so proud of you!" The pinkette retracted from the hug, still only to squeal in delight.

"Really, Sis. It was nothing."

"What do you _mean?_ It was incredible! Everyone at Konoha is going to think you're the bee's knees," Sakura shouted, looking around at the other passengers in the airship, all future attendees of Konoha Academy.

"I don't want to be the 'bee's knees'! I don't want to be any kind of knees! I just want to be a _normal _girl with _normal_ knees."

"What's with you? Aren't you excited?"

"Of _course_ I'm excited… I just…" Tenten hunched her shoulders and looked at the floor, "I got moved ahead _two years_. I don't want people to think I'm special or anything.

Sakura's gaze softened; she walked over to her sister and threw and arm over her shoulder, "But you _are_ special."

"_The robbery was led by nefarious criminal Kabuto Yakushi who continues to evade authorities. If you have any information on his whereabouts, please contact the Konohagakure Police Department. Back to you, Lisa."_

Upon hearing the news being broadcasted on one of the holographic monitors, both Tenten and Sakura slowly started making their way over to the screen.

"_Thank you, Cyril. In other news, this Saturday's Faunus Civil Right's protest turned dark when members of the White Fang disrupted the ceremony. The once peaceful organization has now—"_

The monitor quickly shut off, then restarted itself. This time a different figure, the dark-haired woman from the rooftop with Tenten, appeared on the screen. _"Hello, and welcome to Konoha!"_

"Who's that?" The pinkette quirked her head to the side.

_ "My name is Kureno Yuhi."_

"Oh!"

_"You are among a privileged few who have received the honor of being selected to attend this prestigious academy. Our world is experiencing and _incredible_ time of peace, and as future Huntsman and Huntresses, it is your duty to uphold it. You have demonstrated the courage needed for such a task, now, it is our turn to provide you with the knowledge and the training to protect our world."_

As the image faded from the screen, Tenten looked out the window. "Wow!" Running over impatiently and pressing her forehead into the glass, she exclaimed, "Look! You can see Suna from up here! I guess… home isn't too far after all."

Sakura walked over to her sister and slung her arm around the younger's shoulders before saying, "Konoha's our home now."

"Ehhhhhhhhh…." Looking to the side, Tenten and Sakura saw a young man in a bright green hunched over in the corner of the airship looking extremely sick. "Uhhh… mm-!" Covering his mouth, he sprinted to the nearest trashcan.

"Well," the pinkette sighed, "I guess the view's not for everybody."

"It was nice while it lasted," Tenten dismissed before turning to the window once again. "I wonder who we're gonna meet…"

Sakura chuckled, "I just hope they're better than vomit boy." They met each other's eyes giggled softly. Glancing downward, Tenten saw a flash of a rather odd color on her sister's boot. Upon slightly closer inspection, Tenten concluded that it was in fact, definitely, 100% vomit.

"Oh, _gross!_ Sakura! You have puke on your shoe!"

Sakura looked down with panicked eyes, "Gross, gross, gross, gross, _grossgrossgross!"_

"Get away from _me!"_

.

.

.

_But perhaps, victory is in the simpler things that you've long forgotten. Things that require a smaller, more honest soul._


End file.
